When I first arrived in Taupo a little over a month ago, Genna told me how people get stuck here. Not in a bad way like people get stuck in Great Yarmouth, but in the way that they fall in love with Taupo and never want to leave. Now I know what she meant.
In the week just gone, lots of movies were watched and tea drank. Thursday was very exciting since Genna, Brad and I went out on the Barbary, a yacht formerly owned by Errol Flynn , which now does 2 hour outings making a really great way to see the lake. Originally, I wanted to see the Maori carvings, but since the wind was so strong we couldn't go out there. What we did see was beautiful though, and since the water was so rough I was glad to have waterproofs on, even if they weren't the most flattering. The size XXL trousers combined with the massive jacket, all in bright yellow, did make me look like an inflated banana, but I was dry! (Which is more than I can say for Brad!) After some Titantic-esque posing (pictures to follow) and managing to drink a glass of wine with minor spillages, one of which was on my face, I got chatting to one of the girls working on the boat. Turns out she was from Kings Lynn! Bloody small world it is. Good to have someone one my side though when the bloody Kiwi's took the piss out of me saying I needed to "pop home." Perfectly legitimate use of the English language, honestly!
Thursday night was messy. Pre-drinking at Genna's place consisted of the boys kicking Doris around the front room. Doris is a headless, limbless plastic mannequin found in the lake and thus proclaimed as Ben's new girlfriend. So by this point (around 9pm...) I was around a bottle and a half of wine in and feeling pretty good. Got all dressed up in Genna's lush blue dress and gorgeous killer heels and we went into town. Now in all honesty, the heels didn't last long. I can walk in killer heels, but not after lots of wine and two coronas, it just doesn't happen. So a bit of stumbling later, and (un)gracefully falling into Brad's arms, I decided it was time to lose the shoes and have a little dance without them. And there it was, I was that girl who had taken off her high heels to dance. Disaster. I'm not so sure I remember leaving, but Friday whilst Gen was at work me and Brad watched Jeremy Kyle and ate Subway - successful day.
Friday I left Taupo after a slightly tearful goodbye coffee with Di. I got a lift with Genna up to Tirau to meet up with Kathy, well I ended up driving because Gen was slightly worse for wear. Driving in New Zealand is pretty much the same as driving in the UK, except they have a weird give way rule. If you're turning left, you don't have right of way, the cars who are turning across traffic do. So weird. Anyhow, met up with Kathy and dropped my stuff off at the farm. The little farmhouse reminded me so much of Paul's place, not because of the layout or anything but because Kathy is making it fit to live in, similar to what Mum's been doing to Paul's place. But it was a really lovely little place. We went to Okoroire Pub, a little tiny village type pub, and I won a game of pool! I know, miracle right? Especially as in Queenstown I could hardly hit the ball. However, my win wasn't really on skill, more on a technicality, but if it's a win I'll take it! Couple of berry ciders later and word had travelled around the small pub that I was from Norfolk, after which I met Chris from Suffolk and another guy from Norfolk. Such a small world! The obligatory "Ohh, can't be seen talking to you..." was exchanged between me and Chris and I volunteered my (very limited) football knowledge in the Norwich/Ipswich argument that of course followed.
On Saturday morning we went into Tirau to a cafe where Grahme's daughter Estelle worked. We had a little look around the shops in Tirau, including a shop exclusively of Christmas decorations that's open all year... surely that doesn't do a roaring trade in July? After a cup of tea and meeting Estelle, we went to pick up some of my stuff and headed over to Estelle's place, a house in Putaruru that she shares with 3 others. The drinking started at 1pm, sitting on the roof drinking wine. When Estelle's housemates got home we went to the liquor store and proceeded to sit in the sun and drink even more, followed by 2 games of Ring of Fire and at one point there was pizza? I dunno. Such a good night though! It did make me think, however, about the funny twists that my trip takes. How did I end up on the first floor roof of a house in Putaruru with people I've never met? Craziness!
Oh, I also made the decision to go back to Taupo in the morning. Okay, Gen made the decision when I called her up and asked her what to do. I can't keep away from the place, I've left twice and I'm back again. So back to Auckland on Wednesday!
Getting back to Taupo yesterday it was unbelievably hot! We went to Morgan's baby shower in the morning and spent the afternoon laying in the sun... two days in a row and I'm not burnt, what is this madness?! We ended up getting burger and chips for dinner and sat in the botanical gardens to eat, with a lovely view over Lake Taupo, then headed off to meet Haley at the hot pools for a soak and a chat. After being so relaxed that my heart might have actually stopped, we got in bed and watched Eclipse... relaxed relaxed relaxed.
Saturday 26 November 2011
Sunday 20 November 2011
20/11/2011 - Rambling Rambles...
In all honesty, I have been lazy. I have had a multitude of lazy days. On the positive, I'm now totally caught up on How I Met Your Mother and Josh Radnor (aka Ted Mosby) is now following me on Twitter. Overall a success I'd say.
On Thursday night, I went with Gen to have diner with her friends at Breakers. Mushroom fettuccine and cheesy garlic bread later and we started on the drink. No wait, we didn't, because I'd left my passport at home and my driving license in Franz Josef. So after a slight bump and a quick trip home, we were back on track. We started in Mulligans and met up with Brad, Ben, Laurie and Lisa. Tom the barman remembered me from the various times I've returned to Taupo and Buzz (the bus driver from Magic who keeps turning up) happened to be in the bar. A couple of drinks later, we headed over to Finn's. I was feeling a little sicky by this point. Nope, not alcohol sick, but my stomach just wasn't sitting right (TMI?). Anyhow, I decided the only way to fix the sicky feeling was more alcohol. Over at Finn's, this guy was playing the guitar and singing and was really good, so we all ended up having a dance which was really good. I ended up winning a free beer because he forgot his words and I was singing along, so apparently that helped him remember? Whatever, free beer.
I'll level with you guys, I'm been horribly homesick these last few days. It sounds so silly but I just can't get on board with it being hot a Christmas and not being with Mum and Paul. I keep thinking (and probably romanticising) Christmas at home. Eating Quality Street and throwing the screwed up wrappers at each other (and still finding those wrappers down the back of the sofa in February), making champagne sunrises, Mum's pigs in blankets, snowball fights with the neighbours at Victoria Cottages. I've also been generally homesick for little things like Shout At the Telly Night with Mum on a Thursday, nights out in dirty GY, visiting Nikki in the afternoons and even going to work. When I spoke to Mum last night, she made a really good point that because I'm over the halfway point now, it's more of a countdown to my homecoming. On the other hand I can hardly believe it's 12 weeks until I'm home.
Today I have felt better though. Baking always makes me feel better.
On Thursday night, I went with Gen to have diner with her friends at Breakers. Mushroom fettuccine and cheesy garlic bread later and we started on the drink. No wait, we didn't, because I'd left my passport at home and my driving license in Franz Josef. So after a slight bump and a quick trip home, we were back on track. We started in Mulligans and met up with Brad, Ben, Laurie and Lisa. Tom the barman remembered me from the various times I've returned to Taupo and Buzz (the bus driver from Magic who keeps turning up) happened to be in the bar. A couple of drinks later, we headed over to Finn's. I was feeling a little sicky by this point. Nope, not alcohol sick, but my stomach just wasn't sitting right (TMI?). Anyhow, I decided the only way to fix the sicky feeling was more alcohol. Over at Finn's, this guy was playing the guitar and singing and was really good, so we all ended up having a dance which was really good. I ended up winning a free beer because he forgot his words and I was singing along, so apparently that helped him remember? Whatever, free beer.
I'll level with you guys, I'm been horribly homesick these last few days. It sounds so silly but I just can't get on board with it being hot a Christmas and not being with Mum and Paul. I keep thinking (and probably romanticising) Christmas at home. Eating Quality Street and throwing the screwed up wrappers at each other (and still finding those wrappers down the back of the sofa in February), making champagne sunrises, Mum's pigs in blankets, snowball fights with the neighbours at Victoria Cottages. I've also been generally homesick for little things like Shout At the Telly Night with Mum on a Thursday, nights out in dirty GY, visiting Nikki in the afternoons and even going to work. When I spoke to Mum last night, she made a really good point that because I'm over the halfway point now, it's more of a countdown to my homecoming. On the other hand I can hardly believe it's 12 weeks until I'm home.
Today I have felt better though. Baking always makes me feel better.
I only planned to make a carrot cake (the one on the right), but also ended up making 20 cupcakes and lots of chocolate brownies. It's been a baking day.
The kittens have come on leaps and bounds. Quite literally, they've been jumping all over the place. Unbelievable that under a week ago they could hardly walk.
I've been eating a lot of rubbish lately, so in my two weeks left in Taupo I've decided to go on a bit of a detox. I realise my baking day today kind of gets in the way of that, but it's not as if I'm binging like I have been. Basically, I weighed myself the other day and I've put on quite a bit of weight, I'm now 150lbs. This is quite simply a result of my diet of almost exclusively pasta and noodles. So healthy meals and biking into town is now on the menu. Had some really nice sushi in town on Saturday, sushi is healthy, right?
Well, this has been a post full of rambling. But that's okay, sometimes that's how it goes.
I'm now using Twitter a lot more, so this is it.
Good night!
Wednesday 16 November 2011
16/11/2011 - Arrival of the Kittens
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| Beautiful Taupo Sunshine |
When I was last in Taupo about a month ago, the stray cat that gets it's food here was very very pregnant, so pregnant that we expected her to drop every day. But she waited until the day after I left. Now this cat is pretty wild and feral, it seems like Di is the only one she'll let near her, so when she took the kittens under the house it seemed like no one would see them until they were themselves feral. I wanted to see the kittens, so I was assigned the task on going under the house on my belly to get them out.
This morning I went for lunch with Kathy and her Mum, which was lovely, but when I got back it was game on. It was a beautiful day in Taupo today... perfect for retrieving kittens. Di got some of Bryce's overalls from the shed, I put on some gloves and a hat (in case of spiders and so I don't get webs in my hair, ew.) And we were ready to roll.
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| This is a good look, no? |
Look how gorgeous the little babies are! They kept trying to crawl out of the holes in the banana box, so I fashioned covers for them out of an empty Heineken box and sellotape. Their mother doesn't seem to interested, so I've tried to ween them onto solids and it seems to be going pretty well. I've self assigned these kittens as my project for the next two weeks since they are just so precious!
In other useful things of the day, it's been a day of getting things done. I finally dropped my jeans at the clothing repairers, I read Adam and Enoch a story on Zoodles and I named all the gap year pictures of my external hard drive. As well as that I Skyped with Mum this morning, which was great since we haven't been able to speak properly for a while. If the weather stays nice tomorrow, I plan to make myself a picnic lunch and take a bike ride. Lovely.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
15/11/2011 - Queenstown
I love Queenstown. It's contemporary yet relaxed and pretty, the weather changes very quickly and there's plenty of night-life. A night-life I took full advantage of. The time I spent in Queenstown was not enough, and mostly involved drinking lots of Toffee Nut Lattes. Yes, that's right, Starbucks has it's red Christmas cups and Christmas drinks in NZ too and it's safe to say after drinking three grande lattes in one day, I developed a slight addiction. In my defence, they are a limited edition for about 6 weeks and Taupo doesn't have a Starbucks - I had to make the most of it. Aside from drinking lattes and making a Wodka Club playlist of Spotify, a couple of nights were spent out getting 2 for 1 drinks at the Buffalo Club, playing pool (badly) at Harry's and getting $2.50 beers at Brazz. Woke up late, stayed up later and spent lots of time watching How I Met Your Mother with Lucy. Also ate a massive burger which is apparently famous, the Fergburger, it was pretty good.
Turned out that the hill I mentioned before wasn't a difficult hill at all really, in fact it probably done my legs lots of good (and helped with the high-calorie lattes...), as long as you're not carrying 20kg on your back then it's all good. I could happily live in Queenstown, very happily. The scenery is gorgeous and the people are kind.
I spent a good time trying to get my hip pierced but places were closed, maybe it's a sign I shouldn't get it done. On my last day there, the weather was beautiful, so Lucy, Rob, Harrison and I spent some time sitting on the grass near the lake, playing cards in the sun. I got a little burnt, of course.
Yesterday, I flew back up to Auckland then got the bus down to Taupo. The flight was fine, the bus was not so fine. An overly touchy-feely Japanese couple sat in front of me, which was a bit awkward but I managed to get a bit of sleep. It's good to be back in Taupo and see Gen, who met me from the bus and we took a b-line straight for Maccas. It's so so good to be back in a home, with real food and tea, and be able to shower when I want and lay-in. Very very nice to be back.
Turned out that the hill I mentioned before wasn't a difficult hill at all really, in fact it probably done my legs lots of good (and helped with the high-calorie lattes...), as long as you're not carrying 20kg on your back then it's all good. I could happily live in Queenstown, very happily. The scenery is gorgeous and the people are kind.
I spent a good time trying to get my hip pierced but places were closed, maybe it's a sign I shouldn't get it done. On my last day there, the weather was beautiful, so Lucy, Rob, Harrison and I spent some time sitting on the grass near the lake, playing cards in the sun. I got a little burnt, of course.
Yesterday, I flew back up to Auckland then got the bus down to Taupo. The flight was fine, the bus was not so fine. An overly touchy-feely Japanese couple sat in front of me, which was a bit awkward but I managed to get a bit of sleep. It's good to be back in Taupo and see Gen, who met me from the bus and we took a b-line straight for Maccas. It's so so good to be back in a home, with real food and tea, and be able to shower when I want and lay-in. Very very nice to be back.
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| Beautiful Queenstown |
Thursday 10 November 2011
10/11/2011 - Franz Josef/Wanaka/Queenstown
Ended up staying in Franz Josef for two nights, which I wouldn't say was a bad choice but I will say that Franz Josef has one main street, and about two other streets. Suffice to say, it's a little small. Rob and Lucy arrived not too long after I wrote last time and we spent the evening watching Lord of the Rings and then we took a walk around night time Franz Josef which was really nice, seeing the stars and snowcapped mountains. The next day was chilled out, watched The Life of Brian and went to the bar with the guys where they played pool (I tried, and failed), so instead a British guy from Cambridge swapped in and I chatted to his wife instead.
The next morning was a horribly early start since my bus was supposed to leave at 7.30am, but even though it was there at 7.30, it didn't leave for at least half an hour. We drove through Fox Glacier and past Lake Matheson, which was beautiful. Sadly, it was raining so there aren't any pictures. We then passed through Haast and finally arrived at Wanaka, a little town by the lake of the same name. Rob and Lucy were down at an ice cream shop called Tangos, which I got a very nice hot chocolate from when I went to meet them. It was still raining, so we decided on fajitas and a movie night, where I finally watched the Little Shop of Horrors.
The bus journey today was shorter, but still longer than it should be, but the views towards Queenstown of the sapphire blue water were amazing. We stopped at the birthplace of bungy jumping, the AJ Hackett bridge, and I watched terrified people throw themselves off... or get pushed in some cases. We also stopped at Arrowtown, a little town on the outskirts of Queenstown which is really historic and the buildings in the main street are all olde worlde.
I like Queenstown. I'm in Queenstown now and even though it's a city, it's small and lovely. Can't say I enjoyed the walk up the hill to the hostel with the backpack, hangbag and food bag, but I made it, I'm alive. I went underwear shopping this afternoon, since the situation was getting dire (TMI?) and then met Rob and Lucy at a bar that had a $2.50 beer special. ff now to shower, get ready then go to the world bar.
Yep, I'm aware this is a rushed, boring post. Fun times!
The next morning was a horribly early start since my bus was supposed to leave at 7.30am, but even though it was there at 7.30, it didn't leave for at least half an hour. We drove through Fox Glacier and past Lake Matheson, which was beautiful. Sadly, it was raining so there aren't any pictures. We then passed through Haast and finally arrived at Wanaka, a little town by the lake of the same name. Rob and Lucy were down at an ice cream shop called Tangos, which I got a very nice hot chocolate from when I went to meet them. It was still raining, so we decided on fajitas and a movie night, where I finally watched the Little Shop of Horrors.
The bus journey today was shorter, but still longer than it should be, but the views towards Queenstown of the sapphire blue water were amazing. We stopped at the birthplace of bungy jumping, the AJ Hackett bridge, and I watched terrified people throw themselves off... or get pushed in some cases. We also stopped at Arrowtown, a little town on the outskirts of Queenstown which is really historic and the buildings in the main street are all olde worlde.
I like Queenstown. I'm in Queenstown now and even though it's a city, it's small and lovely. Can't say I enjoyed the walk up the hill to the hostel with the backpack, hangbag and food bag, but I made it, I'm alive. I went underwear shopping this afternoon, since the situation was getting dire (TMI?) and then met Rob and Lucy at a bar that had a $2.50 beer special. ff now to shower, get ready then go to the world bar.
Yep, I'm aware this is a rushed, boring post. Fun times!
Sunday 6 November 2011
7/11/2011 - The Second Terrible Break-up of the Wodka Club
Two posts in one day? I'm spoiling you! This one promises to be more informative and less tired-rambling style. (Okay, it was going to be two in one day, but then I went and got drunk instead, so you're now back to your not-so-spoilt selves - congratulations!)
**This is a long post and pictures will be added when I get them from various people, since my camera is well and truly dead***
After I had written last time, I was invited by Björn (who I knew from Picton) for a rain spa. A rain spa sounds posher than it is, it's sitting in the hot tub in the rain. Nonetheless, it was nice. There was Björn and Max from Germany, Steve from Canada, a girl from Germany, Kez, George and some other guy who were Kiwis and Dave joined later. And me of course. Now whilst it's perfectly acceptable to get into the hot tub via the steps, it became apparent that the only legitimate way out was to jump off the edge into the pool. Which was fine, albeit it a little cold, until I briefly lost control of my bikini top. Luckily, I am an expert actress and nobody noticed. Until now when they'll all know. It was not built for jumping from hot tubs into pools! Anyhow, after that I decided it was time to do the much less strenuous task of laying in the sauna. So Canada Steve (which is his full name, by the way) and George and I went to the sauna and spoke about various things. I actually had quite an early night that night, I was tired from travelling and moreover, I wanted to watch How I Met Your Mother, so bed and earphones in by 10pm. So that was the Tuesday, when Matt was supposed to be arriving, but unfortunately he got a job in Blenheim so stayed there. (Wait, what's a job?)
The next day, the girls were due to arrive, which I was unbelievably excited about, so excited in fact that I asked reception to make sure they were in my dorm, but reluctantly refrained from picking out their beds for them. Their bus got in at 2ish so I had the morning to myself and I didn't do too much. Slept in, wandered into town in the pouring rain, and sat in a coffee house reading Lady Chatterley's Lover. It was all very movie-esque with the rain pouring down and the smell of coffee and the book choice. I had a little lunch, in the form of a Mediterranean vegetable toastie, and braved the rain to meet the girls. Luckily, it had died down a bit and by the time I got to the bus terminal it had completely stopped. The girls arrived and a couple of hugs later, we were wondering how to get back with all their bags. Now, I knew the hostel had a shuttle van, but we couldn't see it anywhere, so we called the hostel and they said there was no shuttle. Great. So I grabbed a couple of bags and Hayley and Cheryl had their packs and we set off for the walk to the hostel. 5 minutes in, the Paradiso van drives past us... what a joke! "At least it isn't raining.." I said, sod's law dictates that it then started to rain. 20 minutes later we arrived bedraggled and tired, but we arrived. That night there were reunions, wine, music and laughing, as always, but also a bit of banter that went too far! We also met Dan from Zimbabwe who was younger than me! A big achievement since I'm 99% of the time the youngest one about. Anyhow, he turned out to be so full of bullshit it was unbelievable - "Oh yeah, acid's my favourite but I like a bit of coke, I'm not addicted though. It's been two years since I've done acid." - so you were 16? It's not big or clever, piss off.
On Thursday, we walked into town to do various jobs, but ended up taking poor Hayley to the after hours doctor for her poorly toe. Antibiotics and food shopping later, we had a brief stop at Burger King before walking back to Paradiso. The night again passed without much incident, back to the wine and the party bus, the bus being an old bus in the Paradiso garden, decorated with graffiti and generally where everyone seems to go after 10pm. I had a relatively good night, which ended in us sitting in Paul's van with Dave and Dan for a bit of a smoke. Then 4am came and woke us all up with a shock, the fire alarm. At first I thought it was my phone alarm, then someone else's but when it didn't stop and I'd woken to find it was very loud, I thought I'd better get up. I've never been in a real fire alarm situation, but I guess all those years of school fire drills made it a reflex to go and assemble outside. I even did the old check the temperature door so that the fire's not behind it trick! Turns out, there was no fire, someone had sparked up a joint in one of the tipis outside. So we traipsed back to bed. I was freezing, since of course in a fire you grab nothing (an idea wasted on the boy we saw with his full backpack, and also his bed sheets and duvet with him) and couldn't get warm again for the rest of the night.
Friday, a decision was made. Well the decision was actually made on Thursday night that if Hayley was in the same amount of pain in the morning, we'd take her to the hospital. Friday, she was again in a lot of pain and hardly able to walk, so after Cheryl and I had been to the library in the morning, I tracked down Canada Steve and asked if he'd drive us to the hospital. He was very kind, and did. Unfortunately, the A&E women were not so kind, almost distrusting in the severity of Hayley's pain and were less than helpful. They were impressed however by Hayley's 'team' (IE. Cheryl and I) since we'd bought every possible document, medication and information needed, so every time the nurse asked for something, it was right there. So there's Cheryl sifting through insurance documents and presenting medication whilst I'm asking important questions like "So if it's going to cost Hayley $420 to see a doctor here, but only $110 at the after hours doctor, what care will you provide that's different to them?" (The answer was none.) We really were very organised, but Hayley was in a lot of pain and couldn't really say too much. Off we hobbled to the after hours doctor, but the next appointment wasn't for two hours, so we hobbled back to the hospital cafe for a fish sandwich. Two and a bit hours later, Hayley was dosed up on tramadol with (hopefully) the right diagnosis at last! That night Hayley spent in bed, understandably, whilst Cheryl and I made some fajitas for dinner. I also met a bus driver I'd had from the North Island, Soap!
Saturday being our last day, we'd thought about going to the beach. It was also Guy Fawkes so we hoped to find a fireworks display somewhere, but no. Instead, in the morning, George took me to the Nelson market, which I didn't even know existed. It was really lovely, the weather was nice(ish) and the things for sale were amazing. Not to mention the gorgeous smelling caramelised cashews and almonds that George bought me three bags of! These were quickly finished off by Cheryl and I whilst watching the Rocky Horror Show later on with Hayley, delicious. In the afternoon (after the RHS), George gave Cheryl and I a lift into town to buy some fireworks, which we didn't end up getting. I wanted to go see how much it would cost to get my hip pierced but the lady said she probably wouldn't do it because it will grow out and leave a scar. I understood, but, this is a lady whose whole face was covered in piercings and whole body was covered in tattoos, not so sure she can judge. So no hip piercing, yet. We ate some nachos for dinner and pretty much spent the last night as the others had been spent, only we took a walk and saw some fireworks too...
Getting up in the morning was less than fun and saying bye to the girls was horrible, but only temporarily since I'll see them in Melbourne if all goes to plan. Found out the bus had a puncture ten minutes into the journey and having to sit in Zumos for around two hours whilst it was fixed. Back on the bus, with Soap driving, we were headed for Greymouth. We journeyed over the Hope Saddle and through the Buller Gorge. We stopped at Cape Foulwind, named by Captain Cook because it is where his ship was blown off course, when in fact there is not much wind there and there has only ever been one wreckage there! I was hanging out with Max, and we saw a seal colony with some babies! So cute! Moving on, we drove down the coast road right next to the sea on a road cut into the mountains, the road got very thin at times, often to just one lane. We arrived in Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks, a big formation that's arranged in layers and looks like stacked pancakes. Apparently they are still unexplainable as to why they are formed like that. The sea in full swing around them shows the power of water, truly amazing. The last stretch of drive was made better by the coconut chocolate ice cream that Max bought me, and the fact that the sun was shining! I booked myself onto the brewery tour with the majority of the bus that night.
I arrived at Noah's Ark, my hostel for last night, and it was lovely and cosy. But I didn't have much time to relax. Instead I had a quick shower then was picked up and taken to Monteiths Brewery to sample some beers! Various samples drunk in quick succession later, we were all rather merry and I was showing the German guys how to pull a pint properly, amateurs. (Joe, if you're reading, you would have been proud!) We then all went to the Railway Hotel Bar and Restaurant since there was meal included in our tour ticket. I had the Kiwi Grill which was a burger, a lamb chop and some salad and potatoes, and very nice it was too. More beer (thanks old Australian man, whoever you were) and we all headed for the dance floor. Now, Rhea, when you read this you will be very proud to know that last night, I showed New Zealand how to dance GY style. I can't say it was good, but I can say it happened. Had quite an early night, navigated my way back to the hostel for around 11.30pm. Actually, I'm proud of this fact since I had no idea where I was and used my sense of direction. I then had a little bit of a drunken conversation with Mum on Facebook, and slept unbelievably well.
Another early morning for my trip to Franz Josef today, luckily not such a long journey though. We first stopped in Hokitika, famous for it's greenstone, then went through the town of Ross, where time seems to stand still. Ross is situated right on top of a massive goldmine, and mining companies keep offering the people millions of dollars to move their town 2km to the left, but they dislike change so much in Ross that they refuse, every year. We then stopped at Bushman Pete's, a funny little museum dedicated to deer hunting it seems, slightly strange.
So now I'm in Franz Josef, and Montrose Backpackers seems very nice, with free internet which is very nice. There's another cheap meal with the bus people tonight, but not sure if I'll go since I've half-arranged to meet Rob when he gets into town, but who knows where the night might take me. Bye for now!
**This is a long post and pictures will be added when I get them from various people, since my camera is well and truly dead***
After I had written last time, I was invited by Björn (who I knew from Picton) for a rain spa. A rain spa sounds posher than it is, it's sitting in the hot tub in the rain. Nonetheless, it was nice. There was Björn and Max from Germany, Steve from Canada, a girl from Germany, Kez, George and some other guy who were Kiwis and Dave joined later. And me of course. Now whilst it's perfectly acceptable to get into the hot tub via the steps, it became apparent that the only legitimate way out was to jump off the edge into the pool. Which was fine, albeit it a little cold, until I briefly lost control of my bikini top. Luckily, I am an expert actress and nobody noticed. Until now when they'll all know. It was not built for jumping from hot tubs into pools! Anyhow, after that I decided it was time to do the much less strenuous task of laying in the sauna. So Canada Steve (which is his full name, by the way) and George and I went to the sauna and spoke about various things. I actually had quite an early night that night, I was tired from travelling and moreover, I wanted to watch How I Met Your Mother, so bed and earphones in by 10pm. So that was the Tuesday, when Matt was supposed to be arriving, but unfortunately he got a job in Blenheim so stayed there. (Wait, what's a job?)
The next day, the girls were due to arrive, which I was unbelievably excited about, so excited in fact that I asked reception to make sure they were in my dorm, but reluctantly refrained from picking out their beds for them. Their bus got in at 2ish so I had the morning to myself and I didn't do too much. Slept in, wandered into town in the pouring rain, and sat in a coffee house reading Lady Chatterley's Lover. It was all very movie-esque with the rain pouring down and the smell of coffee and the book choice. I had a little lunch, in the form of a Mediterranean vegetable toastie, and braved the rain to meet the girls. Luckily, it had died down a bit and by the time I got to the bus terminal it had completely stopped. The girls arrived and a couple of hugs later, we were wondering how to get back with all their bags. Now, I knew the hostel had a shuttle van, but we couldn't see it anywhere, so we called the hostel and they said there was no shuttle. Great. So I grabbed a couple of bags and Hayley and Cheryl had their packs and we set off for the walk to the hostel. 5 minutes in, the Paradiso van drives past us... what a joke! "At least it isn't raining.." I said, sod's law dictates that it then started to rain. 20 minutes later we arrived bedraggled and tired, but we arrived. That night there were reunions, wine, music and laughing, as always, but also a bit of banter that went too far! We also met Dan from Zimbabwe who was younger than me! A big achievement since I'm 99% of the time the youngest one about. Anyhow, he turned out to be so full of bullshit it was unbelievable - "Oh yeah, acid's my favourite but I like a bit of coke, I'm not addicted though. It's been two years since I've done acid." - so you were 16? It's not big or clever, piss off.
On Thursday, we walked into town to do various jobs, but ended up taking poor Hayley to the after hours doctor for her poorly toe. Antibiotics and food shopping later, we had a brief stop at Burger King before walking back to Paradiso. The night again passed without much incident, back to the wine and the party bus, the bus being an old bus in the Paradiso garden, decorated with graffiti and generally where everyone seems to go after 10pm. I had a relatively good night, which ended in us sitting in Paul's van with Dave and Dan for a bit of a smoke. Then 4am came and woke us all up with a shock, the fire alarm. At first I thought it was my phone alarm, then someone else's but when it didn't stop and I'd woken to find it was very loud, I thought I'd better get up. I've never been in a real fire alarm situation, but I guess all those years of school fire drills made it a reflex to go and assemble outside. I even did the old check the temperature door so that the fire's not behind it trick! Turns out, there was no fire, someone had sparked up a joint in one of the tipis outside. So we traipsed back to bed. I was freezing, since of course in a fire you grab nothing (an idea wasted on the boy we saw with his full backpack, and also his bed sheets and duvet with him) and couldn't get warm again for the rest of the night.
Friday, a decision was made. Well the decision was actually made on Thursday night that if Hayley was in the same amount of pain in the morning, we'd take her to the hospital. Friday, she was again in a lot of pain and hardly able to walk, so after Cheryl and I had been to the library in the morning, I tracked down Canada Steve and asked if he'd drive us to the hospital. He was very kind, and did. Unfortunately, the A&E women were not so kind, almost distrusting in the severity of Hayley's pain and were less than helpful. They were impressed however by Hayley's 'team' (IE. Cheryl and I) since we'd bought every possible document, medication and information needed, so every time the nurse asked for something, it was right there. So there's Cheryl sifting through insurance documents and presenting medication whilst I'm asking important questions like "So if it's going to cost Hayley $420 to see a doctor here, but only $110 at the after hours doctor, what care will you provide that's different to them?" (The answer was none.) We really were very organised, but Hayley was in a lot of pain and couldn't really say too much. Off we hobbled to the after hours doctor, but the next appointment wasn't for two hours, so we hobbled back to the hospital cafe for a fish sandwich. Two and a bit hours later, Hayley was dosed up on tramadol with (hopefully) the right diagnosis at last! That night Hayley spent in bed, understandably, whilst Cheryl and I made some fajitas for dinner. I also met a bus driver I'd had from the North Island, Soap!
Saturday being our last day, we'd thought about going to the beach. It was also Guy Fawkes so we hoped to find a fireworks display somewhere, but no. Instead, in the morning, George took me to the Nelson market, which I didn't even know existed. It was really lovely, the weather was nice(ish) and the things for sale were amazing. Not to mention the gorgeous smelling caramelised cashews and almonds that George bought me three bags of! These were quickly finished off by Cheryl and I whilst watching the Rocky Horror Show later on with Hayley, delicious. In the afternoon (after the RHS), George gave Cheryl and I a lift into town to buy some fireworks, which we didn't end up getting. I wanted to go see how much it would cost to get my hip pierced but the lady said she probably wouldn't do it because it will grow out and leave a scar. I understood, but, this is a lady whose whole face was covered in piercings and whole body was covered in tattoos, not so sure she can judge. So no hip piercing, yet. We ate some nachos for dinner and pretty much spent the last night as the others had been spent, only we took a walk and saw some fireworks too...
Getting up in the morning was less than fun and saying bye to the girls was horrible, but only temporarily since I'll see them in Melbourne if all goes to plan. Found out the bus had a puncture ten minutes into the journey and having to sit in Zumos for around two hours whilst it was fixed. Back on the bus, with Soap driving, we were headed for Greymouth. We journeyed over the Hope Saddle and through the Buller Gorge. We stopped at Cape Foulwind, named by Captain Cook because it is where his ship was blown off course, when in fact there is not much wind there and there has only ever been one wreckage there! I was hanging out with Max, and we saw a seal colony with some babies! So cute! Moving on, we drove down the coast road right next to the sea on a road cut into the mountains, the road got very thin at times, often to just one lane. We arrived in Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks, a big formation that's arranged in layers and looks like stacked pancakes. Apparently they are still unexplainable as to why they are formed like that. The sea in full swing around them shows the power of water, truly amazing. The last stretch of drive was made better by the coconut chocolate ice cream that Max bought me, and the fact that the sun was shining! I booked myself onto the brewery tour with the majority of the bus that night.
I arrived at Noah's Ark, my hostel for last night, and it was lovely and cosy. But I didn't have much time to relax. Instead I had a quick shower then was picked up and taken to Monteiths Brewery to sample some beers! Various samples drunk in quick succession later, we were all rather merry and I was showing the German guys how to pull a pint properly, amateurs. (Joe, if you're reading, you would have been proud!) We then all went to the Railway Hotel Bar and Restaurant since there was meal included in our tour ticket. I had the Kiwi Grill which was a burger, a lamb chop and some salad and potatoes, and very nice it was too. More beer (thanks old Australian man, whoever you were) and we all headed for the dance floor. Now, Rhea, when you read this you will be very proud to know that last night, I showed New Zealand how to dance GY style. I can't say it was good, but I can say it happened. Had quite an early night, navigated my way back to the hostel for around 11.30pm. Actually, I'm proud of this fact since I had no idea where I was and used my sense of direction. I then had a little bit of a drunken conversation with Mum on Facebook, and slept unbelievably well.
Another early morning for my trip to Franz Josef today, luckily not such a long journey though. We first stopped in Hokitika, famous for it's greenstone, then went through the town of Ross, where time seems to stand still. Ross is situated right on top of a massive goldmine, and mining companies keep offering the people millions of dollars to move their town 2km to the left, but they dislike change so much in Ross that they refuse, every year. We then stopped at Bushman Pete's, a funny little museum dedicated to deer hunting it seems, slightly strange.
So now I'm in Franz Josef, and Montrose Backpackers seems very nice, with free internet which is very nice. There's another cheap meal with the bus people tonight, but not sure if I'll go since I've half-arranged to meet Rob when he gets into town, but who knows where the night might take me. Bye for now!
Saturday 5 November 2011
6/11/2011 - Philosophical?
First off, sorry Mum/Nanny/anyone else I'm supposed to be appropriate around.
Right now I'm sat in Zumos having a mocha, it's 9am and since our bus has a flat tyre, I was remembering last night.
Last night I got to thinking. Deep thinking, possibly even philosophical thinking. Now I can't rule out that this thinking stemmed from the cheap wine, the beautiful fireworks, or perhaps that smoke we had. Regardless, it happened.
And I thought "This is my life."
I get to get up when I want and spend my nights getting drunk, getting high and listening to music. This is my life! If I want to stay somewhere longer, I can. If I want to leave somewhere early, I can. I have complete and utter freedom over every single thing I do. It's all my decision. If I want to go for a walk I can, if I want to write I can, but nothing is going to happen if I don't.
Then I thought about the place I was in last year. This time last year, things were about to get really really shit, and it took a while for things to not be shit. But just look at where I am, how far I've come in a year. I got some a-levels, I got into university and I'm travelling the world, I'm fucking proud of that. I get to sit in coffee houses and talk about politics with cute guys, I get to eat big dinners with groups of amazing people and I get to take time for myself to sit in the sun and read or listen to music or just think. I've got good at getting lost in my own thoughts. And rambling apparently.
What I'm trying to say, is how happy I am with what I'm doing and who I am. I am a completely different girl to the one who left Great Yarmouth on June 23rd 2011, the difference is unbelievable.
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